Superintendent: grant-funded SSO program has deployed law enforcement to Sierra Vista schools

Superintendent Dr. Eric Holmes told the Sierra Vista Unified District governing board Jan. 21 that the district was awarded a grant to support a School Security Officer (SSO) program and that armed local law enforcement personnel have begun working in district buildings.

"As you're well aware, we applied for and received a grant for an SSO program. The district was very fortunate, and we were chosen for that," Holmes said during his superintendent's report. He added that county and sheriff's office personnel, and a “sprinkling” of Sierra Vista Police Department officers, have been assigned to district schools and are interacting with students and staff.

Holmes said additional training for Sierra Vista Police Department officers is scheduled and that, as of the meeting, about two-thirds of the SSO slots were filled. "They're been in our buildings and interacting with our students and staff, and we're very happy to have them there," he said.

Board members did not take separate action on the SSO report during the meeting; the superintendent presented the update as an informational item. No specific dates for the completion of training or a listing of the schools receiving officers were provided in the meeting remarks.

Questions raised elsewhere in the meeting touched on training and scheduling for upcoming board work sessions and trust reviews but did not change the district's immediate SSO deployment plan as presented.

The district identified the program as grant-funded and said it had begun placements; details on funding source citations, county versus municipal staffing breakdown and formal memoranda of agreement were not read aloud during the meeting and were not included in the oral update.